11 September 2013

The University of Aberdeen are planning another excavation on the peninsula from Saturday 7th September until the following Friday 13th.

They will be excavating at Tarrel Dun which is a small circular dun on a rocky knoll on the shore below Tarrel on the east coast of the peninsula. They will be putting a trench through the summit dun and looking at the cave located under it.

Directions: Take the B9165 towards Portmahomack. At the Tain turnoff there is a turning on your right onto a gravel road. Carry on this road until you get to the big house (Meikle Tarrel). You can park just beyond the house, before you get to the gate. On foot go through the gate and follow the path down to the cliffs (you will have a tree plantation on your right). Once you get to the cliff edge turn left and follow the path along the cliffs for about 5 mins. The path will slope down to the shore - this is a track for vehicles. Once on the shore you will see the rocky knoll on you right.

There may be an issue with parking on the track (not enough room really for many cars) but I am sure we can sort that out once we are there.

Further details from Candy Hatherley

11 September 2013

Community excavation taking place 1-21 September, run by Fraser Hunter of National Museums of Scotland at Clarkly Hill, near Burghead. Volunteers are requested to commit for at least three days.

Part of the Moray Archaeology for All programme. Preference given to residents of Moray, but contact the organisers to see if there are spare places. Booking essential.

MORAY ARCHAEOLOGY FOR ALL

The tasks we will be undertaking as part of this project are as follows:

• Flotation of soil samples to extract environmental remains
• Preparation of site archives
• Finds washing & sample sorting
• Excavation
• Fieldwalking and geophysics

The timetable is still being developed, but the dates at present are as follows:

FLOTATION
The first flotation session will take place from 2-5 August, at Dykeside farm, Birnie. We will take people in half-day slots. There will be further events in the autumn.

ARCHIVE WORK & FINDS WASHING
This will take place in the Falconer Museum (Forres) from 10-4, every Monday from 12th August.

Additionally, there will be sessions on Thursday 15th and 22nd.

EXCAVATION
This will take place at Clarkly Hill from 1-21 September. We ask for a minimum of three days of volunteer time over this period.

FIELDWALKING & GEOPHYSICS
This will take place in the autumn, details to be confirmed nearer the time. We will hold a training evening in finds identification in September.

To express interest in any or all of these, please email clarklyleader@hotmail.co.uk
 

11 September 2013

A guided walk around a former small single track farm cleared in the early 19th century. Neolithic and possibly also bronze / iron-age remains at the same site. The walk will also take geology and natural history into account. Some rough walking so dress appropriately

Meet at Ardurek Castle / Calda House car park at NC 243 236

Further information from Historic Assynt gassynt@gmail.com; 01571844654

Part of Scottish Archaeology Month

11 September 2013

An Introduction to Open Source GIS

Cornerstone Cafe, Evanton

Cost: £3, free to low income

The Evanton Wartime Remains was able to make use of a wide range of maps and plans: wartime plans (including keys detailing building functions), aerial photos from the 1940s through 1960s, OS maps from the 1960s onwards and google earth. Using free software, Malcolm Standring geo-referenced this material, basically creating layers of information. This proved invaluable when trying to locate structures, especially after modern rebuilding.
Malcolm will offer a taster workshop on using Open Source QGIS, providing people with an introduction to the benefits of using GIS.